English: In our spelling sessions we will continue to look at homophones, synonyms and writing polysyllabic words.We will be looking at the concept of a 'root' word and how we add the suffixes - ing and ed to them. We will also be looking at writing the Year 2 common exception words.

In handwriting we will begin to look at formation of cursive capital letters.

In Talk for Writing we will be continuing our non- fiction work on report writing. The focus for this will be on dragons. After this we will be looking at 'fear' stories. Our text will be 'The owl who was afraid of the dark'.

Maths: In maths we will be looking at fractions, halves, quarters and thirds and the equivalence of two quarters to a half. We will start our fraction work on shape and then move on to fractions of amounts and quantities. We will be revisiting measures and reading scales for length, mass and capacity. There will also be a revisit to addition and subtraction before looking at time with a focus on quarter to and past the hour. Finally we will be looking at turns with a link back to fractions.

Science: We will initially be returning to our work on plants by checking on our planting investigation.

Computing: The children will be continuing their work on the unit 'We are Researches', creating databases and researching using a website.

Geography: In geography we will be continuing our work on 'Kenya'. We have already learnt about the continent of Africa, the climate and conditions in Kenya and now will be looking at the animals which live there and the culture and traditions.

History: This half term we are starting a new topic 'Intrepid Explorers'. We will focus on Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong.

Music: Our next music unit is called 'Zootime. We will be continuing our work using a glockenspiel copying and improvising rhythms as well as adding musical accompaniment to our song.

PE: We will be continuing our sessions with a coach but will have a new focus of 'Street Dance'. We are also lucky enough to continue to have a gymnastic coach this half term again too!

Art: We will continue our work on colour mixing, looking at shades and tints.

Design Technology: Our focus on food technology continues! The children have already tasted and evaluated a range of dips and dippers and now they are getting ready for making their own creation. They will be practising the skills of cutting and will have the opportunity to make some dips before designing and making their own.

Look what we have been learning....

Spring 1

English: In our spelling sessions we have been looking at homophones, synonyms and writing polysyllabic words. We have also looked at how you add the suffixes -er, -est, - ing, - y to words. .

In handwriting we have been continuing to work on ascenders and descenders and beginning to look at formation of cursive capital letters.

In Talk for Writing we will learnt a rags to riches story based on the story 'Jack and the Baked Beanstalk'. The children innovated and invented their own rags to riches story based on this story. We have learnt about features of writing a report and written our own reports about unicorns.

Maths: We have been looking at adding and subtracting money of the same and different values, including giving change. We have continued our work on adding and subtracting a two digit number from a two digit number and thee single digits. We have also been learning about multiplication, division and fractions and statistics.

Science: We started our new science unit 'Animals including Humans' and have identified and named a variety of animals. We have looked at their basic needs for survival and the importance for humans to exercise, eat the right amounts of different food types and keep good hygiene.

Computing: We have had to change our computing unit to 'We are Researches'. The children have been learning about databases and researching using a website.

Geography: In geography have been learning about 'Kenya'. We have learnt about the continent of Africa, the climate and conditions in Kenya.

History: We have been learning about significant people in history focusing on Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and Edith Cavell. We learnt about the changes they made to nursing.

Music: Our music unit was called 'I wanna play in a band'. We have continued our work using a glockenspiel but this time we have be looking at copying and improvising rhythms.

PE: We have continued our sessions with the tennis coach. So far we have learnt how to hold our racket when we volley, forehand and backhand and how to make backhand shots from the base line.We have also been lucky enough to have a gymnastic coach this half term too!

Art: We have been focusing on colour mixing this half term.

Design Technology: We have been focusing on food technology. This linked to our science theme looking at different food groups and what makes a healthy snack.

Look what we have been learning....

Autumn 2

English: In our spelling sessions we have been looking at similes, homophones, synonyms and writing polysyllabic words.

In handwriting we have continued our work on ascenders and descenders.

In Talk for Writing we have focused on a journey story based on the story 'Katie in London' and an adventure story based on the story 'The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon. The children innovated and invented their own stories based these stories.

Maths: We have continued our work on place value and have been working out how our knowledge of number bonds to 10 can help us derive number bonds to 100. We have then focused on adding and subtracting a single digit from a two digit number, a two digit number from a two digit number and thee single digits. We have also looked at the properties of 2D and 3D shapes and compared lengths.

The children were set a Christmas maths challenge. They had to make paper chain Christmas trees! Each strip had to be measured to be 20cm long before constructing the tree. This was a little more tricky but with perseverance and effort we all made a tree. Well done everyone!!!

Science: We have continued work on our science unit 'Exploring Everyday Materials'. This half term we have talked about the term 'solid' and the flexibility of materials. We even made our own dough! We started looking at our 'Living things' topic and have planted bulbs. The children decided where to put them in order to investigate what plants need to grow. To finish our materials topic the children were asked to design a toy house, labelling the real materials that would be needed. We then made the houses using materials in school.

Computing: Our computing unit involved learning more about algorithms. We have been exploring different games on the computer suite in the Junior Department and have been working out what algorithms have been used to make the games work.

Geography: In geography we have been looking at mapping. We have looked at local and familiar locations using google earth and the children have identified these on a map. We have looked at routes we would take if we travelled from one place to another in the local area. The children have plotted these on a map and talked about how different routes can be taken.

History: We have had a short focus on Remembrance Day, when it is, why we remember and how we remember. Our next focus will be on Florence Nightingale.

Music: Our music unit was called 'Ho Ho Ho. We continued our work on pulse and how to use a glockenspiel to add musical accompaniment to the piece. The children particularly enjoy the rapping part of the song.

PE: In gymnastics we have continued to work on the skill of balancing and adding in the skill of travelling. We have also had a tennis coach in to teach us tennis skills. So far we have learnt how to volley, forehand and backhand and backhand shots from the base line.

We have had a busy start to our year in class 2P!

Have a look at the things we have been learning about this half term.

English: In our spelling sessions we have been recapping on the Phase 5 vowel sounds and the different ways each sound can be written. A Phase 5 sound mat reminder is attached below. We have also been looking at punctuating different sentence types correctly.

In Talk for Writing we have focused on instruction writing. The children have innovated and then invented their own instructions based on our 'How to trap a dragon' instructions.

Maths: We have been learning about the place value of each digit in a 2 and 3 digit number, using practical resources to help. We have also been comparing these numbers using our place value knowledge and the <> signs. We have been practising counting on and back in 2's, 5's and 10's and adding and subtracting multiples of 10 from any number.

Science: Our science unit is called 'Exploring Everyday Materials'. In this unit we have been naming a range of materials and learning about their properties. We have also carried out three simple investigations to find out which material bounces the best, which would make the best raincoat and what type of surface would make the best road! We have then used our results to answer questions.

Computing: Our computing unit has involved learning about algorithms. We have learned about the importance of instructions following a sequence and have inputted instructions into simple programs on the Ipad.

Geography: In geography we have been learning about the continents and oceans of the world. I am sure you have all heard the continent song by now!!!!! We have learnt information about each continent and ocean and their location in the world. We have also talked about the equator, northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere and the North and South poles.

History: In history we have been learning about 'The Great Fire of London'. We went on a visit to Staircase House in Stockport - thank you to all the parents who were able to come too! We have been working on recalling the events and how London has changed since 1666.

Music: Our first music unit is called 'Hands, feet, heart'. We have learnt about the pulse in a piece of music and how to move our bodies to the pulse.

PE: In gymnastics we have looked at different kinds of balances and shapes we can make with our bodies.